THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW.

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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW.

Dang it’s been quite a while, isn’t it? A lot has happened and changed ever since my last blog post. I’ve been really trying to study and understand the bible over the past few months and I must say that it’s been a very eye opening and informative journey. Now do not get me wrong, I do understand that the bible has been translated a million times (excuse the exaggeration, but I’m sure you get what I’m trying to convey here) and as a result some things have been lost in translation. Moreover, the Romans did a lot of editing (even taking out certain chapters) before the scriptures were published or made available to different assemblies. Thus I understand that as a believer it’s pertinent to read the book with a level of caution especially the “New Testament”, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is the mother of wisdom and understanding. But this is a topic for another day.

I was reading the book of Romans the other day and came across a section titled “Love Fulfills the Law” (Romans 13:8-10) and I thought I would share it because it was so interesting and made a lot of sense. I think as believers we all strive to live right and according to the word of the LORD and his standards of righteousness but sometimes it can be very difficult. I am fully aware of the fact that in order for us to die to our sin nature and be delivered from our strong holds we need to repent, ask God to crucify our flesh daily and fill us with his spirit. And this helps us live by the spirit and walk by faith so that we do not gratify the desires of our sinful flesh. However, with that said I think that understanding what God really requires of us is also very important and can be instrumental in our walk. And grasping the concept of love as the very foundation of our faith and the one principle that we must seek to live by as it can help us fulfill the law is paramount.

Yahshua even says in Matthew 22:34-40 that the two most important commandments are 1) “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and 2) “Love your neighbour as you love yourself”. Hence it is clear that the gist of the two most important commandments is also love. Now to make this a little more practical let’s consider how these two laws can be applied to and help us abide by the other eight commandments as well: 1) If we love God with all our hearts, souls and minds we would never dream of committing idolatry (i.e., worshiping false gods or other gods other than the Most High of Israel). 2) If we really love God we would never misuse his name (i.e., twisting the scriptures to fit our own agendas or blatantly blaspheme his name). 3) If we really love God we would remember that because of His everlasting love He made a day especially for us to rest in, therefore to show respect and gratitude for this we would keep and celebrate the Shabbat. 4) If we love our neighbours as we love ourselves we would show our parents respect and honour. 4) If we love our neighbours as ourselves we would never murder anyone and this is also intertwined with loving and respecting God and His creation. 5) If we love our neigbours as ourselves we would never commit adultery. 6) If we love our neighbours as ourselves we would never steal from them. 7) If we love our neighbours as ourselves we would never bare false witness against them. And finally 8) If we love our neigbours as ourselves we would never covet (i.e., be jealous of what they have). So all in all if we love God and our fellow humans as we love ourselves we would never want to hurt them by doing the very things that our Creator warns us not to do.

And for me love is something that you do and not just say. As much as it is very flattering and nice to hear someone saying that they love you but if their actions do not reflect what they confess then their words are meaningless. For me love means respect, care, kindness, honesty and basically treating people as you would like to be treated… And with that said I know that I’m making this sound easy but that’s what prayer is for…smile emoticon